Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-08-19
EDITORIAL.
JERAULD CoUNTY'siCALAMlTY.

EDITORIAL.
JERAULD CoUNTYsCALAMlTY.
What our Exchanges and their Corre-
spondents have to say about lt.-Edito-
r1alComme4ts.-Our Needs andwants
There has been so little comment
on the county treasury muddle among
the home papers, that it looks as if
some OF them were more interested in
helping to coverup this dirty mess for
the benefit of the parties that are to be
blamed, than to ventilate it for the pub.
aic satisfaction. . :.
Below follow some extracts from va
clous newspapers, both correspondence
and editorial, which have so far come
TO the surface, and which in their frag,
mentary drift go quite good ways to.
ward giving an intelligent public an
insight into affairs which they want to
know. e.:
: First comes correspondence to the
Sioux City Journal, ofiJuly 18th, from
Horseshoe Lake, which runs as fol-
lows: II z
Horseshoe Lake, July Especial to
the Journal.--It now transpires that
the shortage in treasurer Williams ac-
counts date back, the present bonds
men claim, so as to hold his last years
bondsmen for the greater part Of the
amount. This together with the fact
that banker Thayer Of Washington
Springs had for a time known of the
shortage = Mr.. Thayer freely admits
this = gives the present bondsmen a
loophole through which they expect to
be able to get out Of the payment to the
county. They have employed able conn-
Gil and expect to not only strongly con-
test but to defeat the suits brought
against them to recover the amount.-
Another perplexing question has aris-
en-. During the whole of Mr.. Williams
last term and up to the time of his &C.
parture the commissioners had never
! made careful examination of his
books, had never counted nor demand
ed to see vouchers for what he claimed
to have on hand and deposited. This to-
gether with the fact that when it was
ascertained that Mr.. Williams was away
from his Office the commissioners dis
charged the deputy and instead Of turn
ing the office over to the bondsmen took
charge themselves: 1t IS now said
that the money was kept mostly in the
safe in the office and the bondsmen,
both old and new are not satisfied as to
the amount left in the safe. 1t is EVIL
dent that the commissioners have been
very lax in their duty. They are very
strongly censured and there has been
some talk at least among the tax payer
of getting up petition and asking them
to resign. Whether this will be done
remains to be seen. Taken altogether
the tax payers are considerable DISCUS
ted with matters, and the prospects are
favorable to their taking the matter of
election of officers in their own hands
and selecting such men as they have
confidence in, instead of submitting to
he led by one or two officers, a mer-
chant or a banker as they were last fall.
The change is bound to come"
This is followed by a short epistle
from the defender, the True Republic
can, who, while previously admitting
that the county has been soaked some
$4,000 worth, thinks it barely worth
mentioning. The True Republican is
content with the present condition and
says in its issue of July ed:
"The disturbing spirit which has its
lair on the banks of Horseshoe Lake
and occasionally ways his tongue
through the columns Of the Sioux City
Journal, is again at work, seeking to
create whatever dissentions 1t may by
Misrepresentation and the raising OF
false issues. Let the serpent hiss. Our
own people can read, see and Judge for
themselves, and the outside world pays
little heed to the vantankerous rawlings
OF anonymous newspaper correspond
ents.' -
The disturbing spirit from the banks
of Horseshoe Lake objected to being
disposed of in such summary manner
by the True Republican, and next we
see in the Ierauld County Homesteader
of July goth, the following correspon-
dence: ...
"The soothing sprup fiend, imported
from the unwashed democracy to assist
in hoodwinking and quieting the PEG
pie of Jerauld county while being de-
frauded by cussedness, carelessness, OF
Innocence % again raises his yelping
wall in the last True (?) Republican, be-
cause an article appeared in the Sioux
City journal, which greatly disturbed
! certain county officials. Nearly every
one now expects him. to throw all the
dust he can, to prevent the true condl,
ton Of county affairs being presented
Ito the people. and he even gives the
people little "taffy" as follows: "Our
people can read, see and judge them
Selves - and then does not publish the
article that so disturbed his masters
We challenge him to publish the article ,,ael
}see and Judge. Meantime we publish
| the contract made by our county ot1ic-
ials in regard to court expenses in the
}Solomon trial, as published in the San
born county official papers. The ollic-
Iials of Sanborn county are eylaentiy
mot ashamed of their bargain. why
t ov o,,r otf;oers neglected to place the